Despite receiving every care imaginable, the turf set up at State Farm Stadium exclusively for the Super Bowl was the source of slips and upsets throughout Sunday’s game in Phoenix.
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Right from the start, the players knew what to expect. The Philadelphia Eagles kicker lost his footing and thankfully avoided injury. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes also slipped during a game.
Therefore, some athletes took the time to change cleats during the game. This is especially true for linebacker Haason Reddick, who however stated that the tactic didn’t work out. After the defeat, he therefore criticized the field without too much restraint.
“It’s the worst field I’ve ever played on,” said Reddick, as reported by the New York Post. I’ve won my battles many times and I’m slipping [en tentant d’atteindre Mahomes]. I just couldn’t change direction.”
“Disgusting. It was like playing in a water park,” said tackler Jordan Mailata.
Little care
However, every effort has been made to ensure players are presented with the best possible gaming interface. The grass is of the Tahoma 31 variety – the species found on golf greens – and was sown two years prior to the game. The pitch was laid and installed two weeks before the big game, using all the know-how of the best professionals to be ready for the finals.
But obviously something went wrong. And it seems that’s often the case in Arizona, according to multiple reports.
“The field was pretty awful,” said Frank Clark, the Chiefs’ defensive end. Looks like they installed tapes [de gazon] over the old lawn. We’ve had this problem before in Arizona.”
But when conditions weren’t optimal, they were the same for both teams. That’s Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni’s message after the game. “It’s not like we play on ice and they play on grass,” he concluded wisely.